Second week in a row of meal planning! We did a great job last week, and actually made everything I had planned to make with the exception of pizza. Pizza night still happened, but we grabbed takeout instead of making it ourselves. So, I sat down once again and made a weekly menu. We didn't t...

Second week in a row of meal planning! We did a great job last week, and actually made everything I had planned to make with the exception of pizza. Pizza night still happened, but we grabbed takeout instead of making it ourselves. So, I sat down once again and made a weekly menu. We didn't t...

I had a perfect Mother's Day weekend.Friday night was filled with our new favorite show, American Pickers and yummy delivery from a vegetarian Indian restaurant. On Saturday, we had breakfast at The Bagel (love that place) and then rushed home to spend the day laying around doing nothing. It was...

I love all of these ideas! @mom24, one of my biggest issues is that I am allergic to fin fish (I can eat shellfish). I feel like there are so many amazing and fast weeknight meals that I miss out on because of my allergy. That sounds awesome!
@melissa, love that idea!

I'm sure most of you know Helen Jane? If not, click her name and go meet her. I'll wait. Then go read her brilliant meal planning advice here. Helen Jane is one of those people who just brings smiles wherever she goes. She is truly lovely. And she lives in St. Helena, in Napa Valley. I love he...

This is my dear friend Lisa. Our husbands have known each other since Kindergarten (!!) and when we lived in Toledo, Lisa was a constant in my life. I remember calling Lisa and Todd just a couple of days after they brought their oldest son home from the hospital to tell them that we, too were ...

This is my dear friend Lisa. Our husbands have known each other since Kindergarten (!!) and when we lived in Toledo, Lisa was a constant in my life. I remember calling Lisa and Todd just a couple of days after they brought their oldest son home from the hospital to tell them that we, too were ...

At the risk of sounding sexist, teaching a boy how to ride a bike was 400 times easier than teaching a girl. This might have more to do my actual kids (and I'm sure it does), but teaching Dylan was traumatic for all involved. There were tears, there was shouting. It was horrific. Teaching Maxie?...

Laura, I was going to add (and forgot) that this totally is a huge milestone in my mind. I feel like there are three or four parenting milestones that are super stressful for the parent; potty training, riding a two-wheeler, swimming..

At the risk of sounding sexist, teaching a boy how to ride a bike was 400 times easier than teaching a girl. This might have more to do my actual kids (and I'm sure it does), but teaching Dylan was traumatic for all involved. There were tears, there was shouting. It was horrific. Teaching Maxie?...

I am about to put my computer down for the day, but I thought I'd share a bit about what goes down in our house every Friday night. The kids (especially Max) hold us steadfast to this ritual, and throw a total shitfit if we even suggest changing it up. We used to go out to dinner on Friday night...

@miguelina - I haven't tried them yet (hasn't been that cold, phew!) but I guess they will keep me warm with just one layer. They are made by Sugoi. Last year, I wore just old stuff I had around, and had to layer pants. NOT the sexiest look.

The Chicago Marathon was on October 10. I've run maybe four or five times since then. I have all sorts of very compelling reasons for this: It's now dark out in the morning I'm tired The belt on our treadmill fried so when we use it, the entire house smells like burnt hair and rotten fish I'm t...

I absolutely love personality quizzes. In college, I did the What Color is your Parachute quiz. It told me that a large percentage of people like myself become members of the clergy. Now, I happen to be agnostic (bordering on atheist), but if you think about it, this is actually pretty accurate....

Randi, the phone was free (hand-me-down) and since we have the AT&T family plan, it's only $25/month which is cheaper than any other plan we could find for her. Plus, she can use it as a camera, for note-taking, as an iPod and for gaming.

Dylan has this terrible habit of hazing our au pairs. We've worked through this before. I talk to her. The au pair talks to her. We all talk to each other. Hugs ensue, and life goes on. I'm not sure what changed this year. I suspect that Dylan's advanced age (almost nine! holy cow) has something...

On Friday night, I attended a meeting at my kids' school. It was a public hearing about the possibility of opening a high school that will be affiliated with the elementary school (our school is pre-K through 8th). This has been bubbling around for a while. There are five selective enrollment hi...

On Friday night, I attended a meeting at my kids' school. It was a public hearing about the possibility of opening a high school that will be affiliated with the elementary school (our school is pre-K through 8th). This has been bubbling around for a while. There are five selective enrollment hi...

First of all, for all of my Jewish readers, Happy New Year! I love, love, love Rosh Hashanah. It's so perfect that the Jewish New Year is at back to school time. It's a great time for new beginnings and starting fresh. For dinner tonight, we incorporated honey (for a sweet new year) in our chick...

@Wendy, @Alicia: Thank you! My kids were really excited about the pizza crusts. I think that will for sure make a repeat appearance in our house
@Rach: Thanks! It's actually a dress, and I LOVE it. $24 at H&M!

Ahhhhh.... school lunches. School lunches are the Erica Kane of childhood. The character you love to hate. I've written about school lunches before, but I thought it would be fun to share my latest school lunch epiphany. At work, we have this wonderful VP, Operations who is really hard core when...

Ahhhhh.... school lunches. School lunches are the Erica Kane of childhood. The character you love to hate. I've written about school lunches before, but I thought it would be fun to share my latest school lunch epiphany. At work, we have this wonderful VP, Operations who is really hard core when...

Ahhhhh.... school lunches. School lunches are the Erica Kane of childhood. The character you love to hate. I've written about school lunches before, but I thought it would be fun to share my latest school lunch epiphany. At work, we have this wonderful VP, Operations who is really hard core when...

I'm going to pretend that my three week absence was totally planned. In actuality, being gone for so long will make the story I'm about to tell you a lot more interesting and give it a true beginning, middle and end. When I went to my college reunion in early June, my friend Abby told me all abo...

I'm now on my fourth day home sick from work. It's just a lousy cold, but being sick is never fun. I've also found that it's hard to figure out what to eat when I'm sick. When I was little, my sick day food always include a Carvel Thick Shake (black and white) and Matzo Ball soup from Wolfie's. ...

My husband is a creature of habit when it comes to dinners. He FREAKS OUT when I change a recipe that he loves, and if he had his way, I'd make many of the same dishes over and over. So, when I made Chicken Paprikash for the first time this past weekend and he loved it, he made a declaration. ...

If you had asked me last year to list the things in my life that weren't as they should be, my list would have looked something like this: I don't exercise, and I should I don't have a budget and I should I need to write more I have definitely made some progress: I have been running (training...

What have I been up to lately? I can't even figure it out. I have certainly been running, which is surprisingly amazing. I am still going strong in my training for the New Orleans half marathon in February. My long runs are up to 5 miles, and I feel really great. I get up for my weekday runs wit...